Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A specific United States federal law: The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is a U.S. federal law designed to combat organized crime. It provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.

Usage

• The term is used as the official name of the law. It is often abbreviated as RICO or the RICO Act.
• It is used in legal, law enforcement, and journalistic contexts when discussing the prosecution of organized criminal activity, complex fraud, or other patterns of illegal enterprise.

Examples

• Proper noun:
  • The prosecutor filed charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
  • The organization was dismantled thanks to the powerful tools in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Advanced Usage

• "To bring RICO charges": This common phrasing uses the acronym to mean initiating a prosecution under this specific law.
  • The federal authorities decided to bring RICO charges against the gang's leadership.

Variants and Related Words

• RICO (n): The universal acronym for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
  • The case was a landmark application of RICO.
• RICO Act (n): A common shortened form of the full name.
  • The RICO Act was passed in 1970.

Synonyms

• Anti-racketeering law: A general descriptive term for laws targeting organized crime.
• RICO statute: A formal synonym referring to the law as a written statute.

Related Phrases

• RICO predicate offense: A specific crime (such as mail fraud or wire fraud) that forms one of the underlying acts in a RICO prosecution.
  • Money laundering was listed as a RICO predicate offense in the indictment.
• RICO enterprise: Refers to the ongoing group, legal or illegal, that is alleged to have engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity.
  • The prosecution must prove the existence of a RICO enterprise.

Noun

1. law intended to eradicate organized crime by establishing strong sanctions and forfeiture provisions